Mapping Key 2022 Midterm Races
A small group of pale, male and stale Republicans have stolen our freedom to decide whether, when, and with whom to have a family.
These midterms the GOP plans to grab more power to go even further. They’re making it harder to vote and distracting voters from their scheme. Don’t fall for it. Vote for your freedom to choose in these key midterm races Congress, Senate, Governors and State house races. Don’t boo. VOTE!
This StoryMap features key races in the 2022 midterms for:
- Congress
- Senate
- Governor
- State House
- State Senate
- Trifecta states
Don’t boo. VOTE!
Ultra right wing Republicans
Consider these four public comments from Republicans on rape and women’s rights:
- “A hypothetical teenager traumatized by rape would have the “opportunity” to help that child become a “productive human being”, said Ohio Republican Rep. Jean Schmidt – MSNBC
- “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down”, declared Republican Todd Akin.
- “When a woman is impregnated by a rapist, “it’s something God intended.” argued Indiana Republican Richard Mourdock – MSNBC
- “President Trump, on behalf of all the MAGA patriots in America, I want to thank you for the historic victory for white life in the Supreme Court”, said Republican Mary Miller (R-Ill.) – HuffPo. Miller has also said in the past “You know, if we win a few elections, we’re still going to be losing unless we win the hearts and minds of our children. This is the battle,” Miller said at the time. “Hitler was right on one thing: He said whoever has the youth has the future.”
- What is White life? Some conservatives see abortion crackdowns as a way to keep up numbers of white citizens amid evolving American demographics. It plays into the racist “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory. – HuffPo
GOP targets state legislatures to push extreme bills
A trifecta is when one political party holds the governorship, a majority in the state senate , and a majority in the state house in a state’s government. A triplex is when one political party holds the positions of governor , attorney general , and secretary of state in a state’s government. – Ballotpedia
“A trifecta is the ideal situation to get things passed in state government is to have single-party control of the governorship and both houses of the legislature. Having governors in office who are willing to sign off on pro-life bills and veto pro-abortion legislation is an essential part of the fight to end abortion in America.” – Church Militant
“Texas House Bill 1280, makes it a second-degree felony “for a person who knowingly performs, induces, or attempts an abortion” according to the bill analysis. The penalty increases to a first-degree infraction “if the unborn child dies as a result of the offense.” The legislation makes no exceptions for rape or incest and adds a fine of at least $100,000 for each offense.” – Houston Public Media
Republican scheme to re-write the constitution
Historian Nancy MacLean says much of the radical right’s agenda is being pursued at the state level. Republicans already have “trifecta control” in 25 states—control of the governor’s seat and both chambers of their legislative bodies—compared to six states for Democrats. “The ultimate Big Bang of this project is that they want to change our Constitution,” Maclean says. “They are actually building towards a constitutional convention. So they have 28 states that have called for this constitutional convention. They need six more.” – Democracy Now
What is a constitutional convention?
The Constitutional Convention in 1787 wrote our Constitution. The document itself lays out the rules for calling a convention – two-thirds of the states, or 34, have to petition Congress to call the meeting, according to Article V of the Constitution. Republicans have been working on it since 2013 with support from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) – a conservative group that helps state lawmakers craft legislation – and groups supported by the Koch Brothers. – Abstracted from CNN
The Assembly of State Legislatures, approved a detailed package of rules this year – outlining everything from who would lead the group to how proposals would be debated. “BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE FOLLOWING PROPOSED AMENDMENT BE SUBMITTED TO THE SEVERAL STATES FOR RATIFICATION AS AN AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA“
Republicans could for instance rewrite the constitution at such a convention to totally ban abortions. The danger of such a change increases as Republicans gain control of more state legislatures.
Voting resources
- VOTE.ORG – Register to vote and get election reminders
- I WILL VOTE – Check to see if you have been purged from the voter rolls
- FVAP – How to vote while living abroad
- VOTERIDERS – Check to make sure you have a valid Voter ID needed to vote
- #VOTEPROCHOICE – Get list of endorsed Pro Choice candidates
TakeAway: Don’t just boo. Vote. Especially in the key midterm races which would let Republicans extend their minority rule and strip away more rights.
Deepak
DemLabs
DISCLAIMER: ALTHOUGH THE DATA FOUND IN THIS BLOG AND INFOGRAPHIC HAS BEEN PRODUCED AND PROCESSED FROM SOURCES BELIEVED TO BE RELIABLE, NO WARRANTY EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED CAN BE MADE REGARDING THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, LEGALITY OR RELIABILITY OF ANY SUCH INFORMATION. THIS DISCLAIMER APPLIES TO ANY USES OF THE INFORMATION WHETHER ISOLATED OR AGGREGATE USES THEREOF.
How this Midterm Races map was designed
DemLabs designed this map in a day with ArcGIS Online using data from sources including:
- Ballotpedia – Connects people with politics by changing the way they access the information they need to be informed about federal, state, local, and territorial politics. Its content includes neutral, accurate, and verifiable information on government officials and the offices they hold, political issues and public policy, elections, candidates, and the influencers of politics.
- 270ToWin – A nonpartisan site for people passionate about politics that aggregates polls and professional election projections, complemented with relevant news.
- CNalysis – Uses a model based on district ratings, chamber ratings, campaign finance, district population and presidential results.
Design maps so they’re easy to use
Information as to be provide so it’s easy to understand practical. Maps are ideal as everyone knows how to use one regardless of their education level of the language they speak. The information in this map is publicly available from other websites but it helps to have data from multiple sources consolidated into a single interactive map that’s easy to use and share.
This map was designed to show voters the key races in the midterms, highlight how the GOP is abusing the electoral process to extend their minority rule and how readers can register to vote and learn about Pro Choice candidates. Here are some of the design elements used in designing this map:
- The information is organized in different data layers (Congress, Senate, Governor, State House, State Senate and Trifecta states).
- These layers are part of the same map but displayed selectively.
- A menu bar lets users go straight to the races they’re interested in.
- Clicking on a voting district reveals details of individual races, current political power and expert projections.
- Different colors are used to make it easier to understand political power in an area.
- Videos, images and cartoons are added to provide context to the map.
- A brief online guide on how to use the ‘SLIDER’ is built into the map.
Make it easy to share your map
- The map can be shared with a link
- A QR Code
- Embed this map in another website with this line of code: < iframe src=”https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/967265d3e15e457eb27fc6aca8c5061b” width=”100%” height=”500px” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen allow=”geolocation”></iframe>
- As a GIF that directs users to the StoryMap by scanning a QR Code
Compare for yourself with a map slider
A slider helps compare two situations side by side. This map shows the current and projected future status of a voting district on the same map. Users swipe sideways to see how their votes make a difference.
Cartoons licensed from Political Cartoons
Reposted from Democracy Labs with permission.